When Smosh star Mari Takahashi started out, YouTube comments were so cruel they made her cry

With 38 million subscribers, the YouTube comedy series Smosh is a
phenom.

But Smosh's stars didn't always have it easy.

When Smosh wanted to expand with more videos, more channels, and
more people beyond its famous cofounders Ian Hecox
and Anthony Padilla, it hired Mariko Takahashi (or
"Mari" to her fans), and launched Smosh Pit Weekly.

It's a weekly show that recapped various images, videos, and
articles found on the Smosh Pit blog on the Smosh website.

And the reaction was brutally hard on her, her boss Barry
Blumberg told attendees at Business Insider's Ignition 2015
conference in New York on Wednesday. Blumberg is chief content
officer of Defy Media, the media company that owns Smosh and more
than a dozen other
entertainment brands.

"Every day for a year, she cried when she read the YouTube
comments," Blumberg said. "The comments
were
racist (she’s Asian) and sexist (she’s a girl)," he said.